5 very different versions of this famous and lovely piece, no particular order. 0:01 Seong Jin Cho 1:46 Yulianna Avdeeva 3:34 Vladimir Horowitz 5:26 Natasha Stojanovska 7:10 Kit Armstrong
Despite the poor sound quality of the video, Horowitz still shines through with his dynamism, unique tonal colors, and clarity. That left hand of his and his rubato... So kaleidoscopic, sensitive, and contemplative.
Thank you for the opportunity to hear five different interpretations. I especially enjoyed Cho and Horowitz who captured so well the charm and playfulness of this moment musical. However, Horowitz adds accents, voicings and tempo changes not indicated in the score, making especially the last section sound more like Horowitz than Schubert. So my preference is for Cho who makes the piece totally delightful while honoring Schubert's instructions.
There's a Deutsche Gramophon album called 'Horowitz at home' where he plays the most delicious rendition of this piece I've ever heard, similar to this one but with better sound quality. The left hand at the end is just amazing.
Another example that Horowitz, even at an advanced age, played in a class all by himself. The way his melody sings, the little accents/emphasis he sets that are not in the score, his rubatos, or the places where he points out an additional phrase/melody in the left hand by elevating it above the other notes - it's unmatched and unique. That's not to say the other interpretations are bad, especially not Cho's and Avdeeva's. Very pleasant to listen to, but they can't touch Horowitz' interpretation.
The order is not random I think, except Horowitz should be second and Avdeeva consequently third . The others are placed in the correct order in my opinion. Kit Armstrong the worst by a mile, Natasha Stojanovska all over the place and with two distinctively audible right hand fails (6:10 and 6:12)
Horowitz undoubtedly first, so many beautiful little harmonies brought out with the left hand that cho just wasn't hitting. I also found Cho's facial expressions super distracting, and in the first section at odds with the sound itself - definitely close second though. Avdeeva was good but not groundbreaking, Natasha needs to play with her hands, not her head, and kit was doing this insane marching drum vibe with the left hand that was horrendous.
Был бы в восторге от Чу, но толи микрофон поставили близко к клавишам, толи там кто-то топочет, но слышны пубум... А так, мимика у него - просто загляденье!
It’s all too evident that this is not a concert hall music! It should be played in a smoky bar on a rotten piano otherwise it sounds dry and ridiculous
I hate to bring this up, but the others sound as HIS young pupils :D:D:D, technically dramatic difference, unfortunately, this does not bear comparison...
